


Those Days of Summer.

by pyrrhics



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Gen, M/M, Oops, actually really gen, another hotarubi no mori e crossover, but with hints to come later I guess?, no surprise as to what pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2014-07-24
Packaged: 2018-02-10 06:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2013741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrrhics/pseuds/pyrrhics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time you meet him, you're six and in the midst of the mountain forest. It's silent and green, a green that's so deep you could drown in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Days of Summer.

The first time you meet him, you're six and in the midst of the mountain forest. It's silent and green, a green that's so deep you could drown in it. The air is still, and you can hear the faint buzz of cicadas in the distance. Here, it's cool and damp, a pleasant change from the stifling heat of summer outside of the shade. You take your shoes off and dig your toes into the soft earth, laying back on the springy grass.

This, you feel, is infinitely better than being trapped inside your aunt's house. Summer vacation - you spend it at her house in the countryside, away from the hustle bustle of the city. It's a change, but a welcome one.

The wind rustles through the grass, a welcome breeze that stirs the air and brings the scent of the wilderness with it. You inhale what it has to offer and sigh happily, pulling out a book. Though you may only be six, you already have an avid love of reading. 

The thought that you might be lost doesn't even occur to you as you lose yourself in the world of the book.

At some point, you fall asleep. The book falls from your hands and lands with a soft noise on the grass. You don't notice - entranced by the quiet peace around you, you are sleeping more deeply than ever.

He tells you that's how he found you. A human child, in the middle of the deep green forest, sleeping without a care in the world. You don't remember it, only that you'd woken up to see his strange mask peering down at you, your book in his hand. The first thing you notice is his hair. A silvery white in the faint light filtering through the trees, the strands sliding down his shoulders. You wonder if he's a _youkai_. It would make sense; you've heard the stories the adults tell their children, about the mountain gods and how they live in the forest. 

And yet, you're not afraid. 

"That's my book," you say, and hold up your hand for it, waiting. He tilts his head but allows you to have it back, dropping it into your outstretched hand. He's careful not to touch your fingers, you notice.

"Are you lost?" His voice flows like a calm river, smooth and measured. It's a nice voice. You shake your head, to clear the last of the sleep from your head, and to answer his question.

"I came here to read." It's only now that you look up at the sky. Dusk is beginning to fall, and the shadows under the trees have lengthened. The air is cooler, but not by much. You realise with a start that your aunt must be looking for you, and you scramble to your feet, covered in dirt. He steps away from you, face still hidden by the mask, but you sense that he's amused.

"You shouldn't come here," he says quietly. "A human can easily be entangled by these woods and become lost." You finish slipping on your shoes and pat yourself down, turning back to stare into his covered eyes. 

"Then, _youkai-san_ , you can lead me out of here, right?" You set off in the direction you came from with determination, eyes darting about to try and find the trail that you had taken to get here. You think you hear footsteps from behind you. You don't look back, suddenly uncertain.

"Most human children would already be crying," he says as he falls into step beside you. From this angle, you can see that his hair is longer than you'd first thought, growing in silvery strands down the back of his neck. You wonder if he has a face beneath that mask - a sliver of skin from where the mask rides up for a second confirms that he does, indeed. Something in you relaxes, though. It's only him. And though he's strange (even though you've only just met him), you don't think he would hurt you.

"I don't cry easily," you tell him. He smiles - you can see it from the side, how his mouth curls up slightly behind the mask. The two of you walk in silence until you reach the shrine gate. There he leaves you - you continue down the steps alone and turn to look back up at him. 

In the setting sun, his hair flares brightly. _It's beautiful_ , you think to yourself, as the wind winds around the two of you. The hair on the back of your neck prickles, and you hold the book more tightly in suddenly nervous fingers.

"Keep following this path and you'll reach the village again," he calls, voice muffled by the mask. The wind teasingly tugs his words away, but you nod anyway, to show that you'd heard him. You muster some courage. "I'm Kougami Shinya," you call back to him. 

"What's your name?"

There's silence. He moves for a second, and the setting sun's rays strike your face, temporarily blinding you. When you finish blinking the sunspots from your eyes, he's nowhere to be seen.

You hadn't been expecting an answer anyway. But as you begin to walk down the path that will take you back to civilisation, you hear him answer. You smile to yourself but you don't look back.

"It's Shougo."

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a rewatch of 蛍火の杜へ, and several artists on pixiv.  
> Written to music by Masaji Watanabe and Cicada.


End file.
